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Dunno about this. I don't think you NEED a TV in a pub at all (imo)
I don't either but town centre pubs need to pull in customers and football games sadly attract a lot customers into pubs.
What my local does witht eh TV is it is on for stuff the bars regulars want - so Scotland Football and rugby internationals only. Ie its a service the the regulars not a tool to attract people
Hold on a minute - blokeowns a brewery doesn't know what makes a good pub? Bloody hell - what is the world coming to...?
Lots of the pubs described up there are the quintessential country pub. Which is fine and that, but this is Barnsley. Where men are men...and so are most of the women.
Pubs in towns are for drinking, not eating. Unless the food you do is homemade, quick and wholesome. I've seen sausage barms (sorry, I've become northern - baps) rustled up just like that, speciality pies and pasties, and - in Sunderland - new potatoes with butter and mint.
As it's a drinking pub, the bar needs to be clear of crap and nicely lit. Soft drinks come from bottles, not those horrible hose things. Beers revolve regularly, and they're all well kept (even the cooking lager).
Floor is tiled or boards - no carpet. Ever.
Tables are small - people only need to put their drinks down and it makes standing easier.
No bar stools. These attracts regulars, who are usually pillocks. Also makes it hard to get to the bar.
Decent selection of spirits (not just scotch - vodka, etc.). Served from the bottle - via a measure - into the glass. No optics.
Belgian beer. Every pub should have a proper (not just Leffe Blond or Duvel) selection of Belgian beer.
My favourite city centre drinking pub: Britons Protection in Manchester.
Roast Potatoes put out as bar snacks, also a meat raffle goes down well!
blokeowns a brewery doesn't know what makes a good pub? Bloody hell - what is the world coming to...
Very different things though - making beer is entirely different to selling it.
the locals make a pub what it is.. new owners often fail to realise this..
hence the long drawn out death of the traditional english boozer..
tragic really
mind you, no tv but kids and dogs allowed [url= http://www.theoldforge.co.uk/ ]here[/url] which is about as good a pub as I know.
good beer and a sunny garden
No tv,
No music
No lager
Good mix of people
Good local ale
Dog friendly
No miserable anti dog people
Ancient characterful building
Run by same family for generations
Welcoming of muddy boots and wet bums
I seem to have described my local The Bell, Aldworth
+1 ourmaninthenorth
..and that's coming from a publican...!
I think ourmaninthenorth may have missed his true vocation in life
Good Beer
Telly, it's a city centre bar for god's sake, doesn't need to be blasting out at all hours.
Lots of loud music, juke box so the punters can choose
No dog biscuits / water bowl ( it's a city centre pub FFS!)
Real fire in winter for everyone to stand around rather than going to the bar...
Good beer.
Tapas.
Outside seating/beer garden
All depends on his target market. What's around him? Young lively bars for students? Trendy bars? Dominoes for the oldies bar?
which pub is it in barnsley? i'll pop in when it's open and report back 😉
My favourite city centre drinking pub: Britons Protection in Manchester.
Good man. Only pub I've ever been in that has a whisky menu.
Anyone who doesn't like dogs automatically barred. I'd rather have a damp dog scrounging the odd crisp or peanut than some boring to$$er talking about work or football! No telly. No Tapas. It's Barnsley not Barcelona.
Anyone who doesn't like dogs automatically barred. I'd rather have a damp dog scrounging the odd crisp or peanut than some boring to$$er talking about work or football! No telly. No Tapas. It's Barnsley not Barcelona.
Is this directed at me?
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Not been to the bell for probably 18 years but back then it did not actually have a bar just a serving hatch, is that still so?
Bazz > that's a bloody disgrace. Plastic glasses?
Mossimus, yes still the same serving hatchand still run by same family. If you went now it would be the same as last time! Looking at my previous post I agree I wasnt describing a town centre pub but a country pub.
Where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came - Cheers.
Where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came
He's got a pub, not a "happy ending" massage parlour....
+1 ourmaninthenorth..and that's coming from a publican...!
I think ourmaninthenorth may have missed his true vocation in life
I'm not a fan of drunk people when I'm sober. So, if I were to run a pub, I'd be a diseased alcoholic just to get through the day.... 😉
I find our local ideal:
weekly guest ale - tick
range of fatty/salty snacks - tick
open fires on cold wet nights - tick
use of hosepipe in the yard to hose down bikes/boots/riders post ride - tick
no complaints about mud deposited on carpet or seats - tick
A very personal thing I'm sure.
In summer, a well maintained garden with well serviced benches (i.e. plates cleared away regularly) far enough from each other that you can't easily be overheard, and a nice safe kids area where they can't be heard.
In winter a roaring log fire or two.
Whatever the time of year roomy interior (not tables fitted in as tight as they can get them) friendly attentive staff, unchilled bitters and ales (yuk!), a welcoming attitude to well behaved children, an unwelcoming attitude to misbehaved children and/or adults, a lovely dog, a friendly cat, other pets a bonus. Good food freshly cooked. Out of the way and not 'popular'.
Live music events, barbeques, etc. all good.
Oooh, and no bloody TV!
selection of ales, possibly including a local one
clean glasses and well kept beer
simple food/menu but well executed
A decent range of wines, kept in decent nick. For da laydeez. Or indeed gents who prefer wine to beer. None of your Stowells of Chelsea wine-box pish.
Our pub-going habits have fallen off a cliff over the last couple of years and one of the main reasons for this is that 'er indoors is invariably served a glass of stuff that would taste better poured over her chips and is charged near enough a fiver a glass for it.
Space. I hate being shoulder to shoulder.
Good staff and plenty of them so you don't have to wait too long queueing.
Good beer and a good selection.
No. I think we just differ in who we'd rather drink with. I'd rather have a drink with a wet smelly dog than with someone who wants to watch telly and eat Tapas. Each to their own. 😉 An open mike night and pork scratchings no problem with that.
No silly cocktails that take ages to make. Or at least separate queues for those who want a drink and those who want to watch the barstaff dance about for 20 minutes with a flask.
No bottles of cheaply made third world lager - you know the ones, trendy label, less than half a pint in the bottle. Tastes like watered down fosters / carling but they want £6 a time. Peroni and that Mexican one are the usual suspects.
Good man. Only pub I've ever been in that has a whisky menu.
You have never been drinking in Scotland then ?
There's two main this a pub should have
1 excellent drinks in the right glasses and
2 excellent staff if I walk into a pub and don't get served quickly or get served a shit pint I will leave
what makes a pub good?
You can please some of the people all of the time.
You can please all of the people some of the time.
But, you can't pease all of the people all of the time.
Food to mean crisps and scratchings. No kids.
Beer, in tip top condition
my mate's mum runs the Britons Protection, I'll pass on the positive vibes 🙂
service is the key really - lay the bar out clearly for the staff with a proper station for each staff member, don't overload with too much choice and make the pricing straightforward. there's not much you can do when it's 3 or 4 deep, but understaffing is daft because the regulars drift off and it's lost profit (note that this isn't me advocating getting the punters as pissed as possible as quick as possible)
if you are doing food - don't overload the menu, just a handful of dishes that are punter centric but not brakes brothers
as the others have said, no frickin barstools !!!
My fave pub has, good beer, a proper fire, dogs, no music, no telly (therefore thankfully no ****ing boring bloody FOOTBALL!)No pool table or darts, good grub, friendly,(& sometimes quirky) customers.
& It's the busiest pub in town.